DIY Custom Doorway Cornice

Keeping with the theme of going custom trim crazy, our latest project was to create a custom cornice for our front door.  The updated look is fabulous, pretty easy to do and comes in at a whopping $20! :)

Time: 3 hours
Cost: Wood $20
Retail Cost: $120 and up (not including installation)
Difficulty: Easy

Of course you do need to already have a few things to keep the cost low:

Tools Needed:
Air Brad Nailer speeds the job up immensly
Paint
Stud Finder
Miter Saw/Box
Level
Pry bar, chisel, or flat head screwdriver (not best choice due to possible wall damage)
Box cutter
Sander/sandpaper

 Here is the pretty blah-looking before shot:

 

First step is to remove the top piece of the door casing, unfortunately were missing a few pictures here but have found some on the internet that reflect this exact step.

Use the level to mark the cut line that your cornice will sit on. This mark should be level with the BOTTOM EDGE of the top piece of casing

Use a box cutter to cut the paint/caulking around the top piece of door molding. This makes it easier to remove.

Use a reciprocating saw or hand saw to cut off the top pieces of the side door casing to create a flat, even line.

OK, back to reality...

The piece is made up of four pieces of wood

(1) 1x4 pine
(1) Brick Molding

(1) Base Cap Molding

(1) Crown Molding 3-5/8"

Assembled view...

These pieces are held together with wood glue, and once the glue dries secure all pieces with brad nails or countersunk finishing nails, EXCEPT for the crown, which should be secure with only glue, unless you have a Pin Nailer as well.

With our 36" entry door, each piece of molding (with the exception of the crown) was cut to 41" to match the width of the door and side casing.

Sand the edges smooth, most easily done with an electric palm sander.

Then cut the crown molding to size, the bottom edge of the crown needs to be a 1/2" longer than the other pieces. There are special techniques to cutting these, but essentially two main tips for making outside cornered crown are :

1) Always cut the molding upside down on the saw (meaning the top of the crown will be touching the plate of your miter box/saw)

2) Always make your angled cut in the opposite direction of the side your cutting. If your cutting the left side of the crown, when it is flipped upside down, your angle needs to lean to the right.

Then when cutting the return piece that reaches to the wall, cut in the SAME direction as the side it needs to be on, so when cutting a piece for the left side of the crown return, your angle needs to the lean to the left.

If youre new to this, buy some extra pieces to experiment with.

With a helper place on top of the door to check for final fitment and nail into the door's header studs

caulk and paint.

Love it! Feel free to reach out with any questions, next up...DIY Interior Transom Window!!!